Ohio State's Marotti compares Sam Hubbard to Justin Tuck

Ohio State DE Sam Hubbard, a former Moeller standout, discussed spring practice and being recognized by the Reds Wednesday night.
The Enquirer/Mike Dyer

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer slaps hands with defensive end Sam Hubbard (6) during practice at Notre Dame Preparatory High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Dec. 28, 2016. Ohio State will play Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl National Semifinal game.(Photo: Michael Chow/azcentral sports)

In advance of Saturday night's showdown between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Oklahoma Sooners, SI.com's Andy Staples and Bruce Feldman wrote a feature about a star player from each team - OU's Orlando Brown and OSU's Sam Hubbard, a former Moeller High School standout.

Feldman wrote about how Hubbard was a lacrosse player headed to Notre Dame when Urban Meyer and Kerry Coombs saw him playing dodgeball in Moeller football coach John Rodenberg's gym class.

And now that Hubbard has "grown into his frame" and become a defensive end, Mickey Marotti, the Buckeyes’ Assistant AD for Football Sports Performance, likens him to Justin Tuck.

From Feldman:

Marotti sees a lot of similarities between Hubbard and another rangy defensive end he coached at Notre Dame: former New York Giants All Pro Justin Tuck. “He was 215, and then when he left Notre Dame he was about 260,” Marotti says. “Tuck was probably a little longer, but they’re both really twitched-up [explosive] athletes.”

Hubbard’s athleticism is reflected by a 4.13 shuttle time, which would have been the fastest of any defensive lineman at the combine this year (the best was Auburn’s Carl Lawson at 4.19). He toyed with the idea of leaving Ohio State early after his third year in Columbus and talked it over with his family, but there was too much left to accomplish. “I want to graduate,” he says. “I want to keep working on my craft with Coach Johnson. I want to keep getting stronger."